smithy97

x3 on the Fury 735 and Fuego CT 8.1

Deeper rattle on the Duo 110 vs the Vision 110. I've had days where the smallies won't touch a vision and only want the duo, and vice versa. Both the 110 and 120 sizes will catch fish any time of year, don't let the size of the 120 scare you, its an amazing bait

The duo 110 is my go-to jerk bait for smallies. I'd get both if I were you, and see which they prefer that day.

+1 on the Duo Jerkbaits! The 110 SP in green smelt has been KILLER. Very underrated baits

I do love the Vision 110, but then I discovered the Duo Realis 110 and now it's my go-to jerkbait. My jerkbait box is now 70% Duos to 30% Visions. I love the deeper rattle in the Duo, and I feel it fishes a bit deeper as well. The Megabass is tough to swallow at that price, and the hooks have to be swapped out on top of that. But, there are days that the fish only seem to bite the Vision. Likewise, there are days that the fish only want the Duo. Haven't lost a Vision to a fish yet, and I haven't experienced a bill breaking. I'd say buy one, swap out the hooks, and fish it. Compare it to other jerkbaits and see what action you prefer. After trying lots of brands I've settled on the Duo and the Megabass, I'm sure you'l settle on 1 or 2 brands that give you confidence as well.

I use the Loomis E6X that you listed for weightless wacky worms. It's a great rod for that purpose, but I find myself loving that rod for jerkbaits even more, so I'm in the market for a new dedicated wacky worm rod (may just buy an identical one). I have really enjoyed that E6X for worms, it has the tip you need to cast them, and a crisp action that responds quickly on a hookset. I know you'd be happy with it.

5 inch senkos wacky rigged weightless work for me, baby bass colour is my #1

Way up north here I throw a chugn' spook jr in bone from opener (mid to late June) until the water gets down into the 60's (mid October) Hands down it's been my best lure ever. I've tried walking them slowly when the water cools down but don't seem to have much luck. Wacky worms, jerkbaits, and dragging t-rigs get the nod from me in the fall.

I'm starstruck! Thanks for the shout out I never got to fish my 168 last week because my motor quit while I was on the water and kinda ruined my fishing trip...I'm still a firm believer that bass up here love the big baits and that they are very underrated

Very true. I never wanted to post my opinion on either reel until at least after a season of use.

Love my 30lb high vis braid to 12lb copoly leader. Great for jerkbaits and wacky worms. I only use 2-4 ft length for leaders and fish fairly clear water, and don't feel the more visible line has cost me fish.

I'm with you Appfisher, baitcasters are more fun! A 703 is a great choice for this techniques, no question! I use a Loomis E6x 853 C, which is a 7'1'' mh/xfast and its fantastic. For line I use a high vis 30lb braid to a 12lb copoly leader, but either fluro or mono would work fine as well. Love the high vis for those techniques, I believe you would as well!

I bought a Speed Demon and an Assassin at the start of this season. I sold the Speed Demon a few weeks ago. I found the spool had to be thumbed way too much, even with the brakes cranked and the spool tension tightened way up. I would fish my Daiwa's and just keep the brakes at less than half, and ever so slightly thumb on each cast. Then I'd do the same with the SD and it would backlash like crazy. The Assassin has been better, but I'm getting so I don't like the feel of the body when all my other reels are Daiwa aluminum frames. It just feels weak in my hands, but it has performed well so far, better than the SD. I find my Daiwas all perform the same from model to model, you can set it and forget it on all of them, but yet there was such a drastic difference between the SD and the Assassin. I also got sick of all the "reviews" on KK products which were just people unboxing them and promoting them without actually using the product. I know that is not specific to just KK brand, there was just an explosion of those videos at the same time it seemed.

Ladybass on youtube fishes the Peterborough area lakes in Ontario, and she's been slamming some fish on the s-waver 168 this year. She gets a lot of follows, but when they hit it, they slam it! I'm heading to that area in 2 weeks and I've got my 168 rigged up and ready to toss on one of my lighter musky rods. I think its a great size of bait to start with for our northern bass.

Love my Vexan 7'4 froggin rod. You can pull a truck out a ditch with this rod yet its very sensitive. Best $120 rod out there in my opinion. Very few people have ever heard of them, but worth checking out (not associated with them in any way just love the product).

Sufix 832. 40lb for all-purpose, 30lb high vis on topwater/wacky worm combo, 50lb on froggin and flippin set up.

Just got my first pair of Costa's, the fantail in 580p in gray lenses. Love these so far. I was using Oakley Fuel Cell's before and the difference is night and day.

I got my first swimbait to try this year, an s-waver 168. I suppose this is the gateway drug to $100+ baits for a lot of folks. Up here in Ontario big swimbaits and glidebaits aren't too popular. If I can prove that these things work in our pressured lakes, I might have to start saving my money to buy more. I don't think I'd spend over $60 for a swimbait, only because our pike and musky will love them too much. In my opinion if you have the funds, go for it. If it boosts your confidence, more power to ya.

I've fished Tatula's the last couple years and love them, they are still going strong. I bought 2 Kastkings this year, so we'll see how those hold up. I someday to want to try a higher end rod/reel (hoping for Dobyns Champion XP and a Daiwa Zillion SV). I'm worried that the higher end gear will ruin me and I'll want to sell all my Mojo bass rods and Tatulas...maybe its not such a good idea my wife says....

I have the Mojo rod that you are talking about - its an amazing multi-purpose rod for the money. It's my texas rig and paddletail swimbait rod mostly, but I throw some 3/4-1oz topwater walking baits on it and it handles them just fine. I don't use it for frogging except for open water. I wouldn't recommend using it for pulling fish out of heavy slop but to each his own. The sensitivity is great for the money that you are paying for it. Never tried the BassX but I can for sure recommend you try the Mojo.

Milliken Fishing - Ben is the most hilarious yet crazy smart fisherman on yt NDyakangler - you can kill off hours of time by watching him smashing giant smallies and staying so humble about it Bassresource - the first fishing videos I ever saw were of Glenn teaching different techniques, still my go-to for new tactics Keepinitreel - The most detailed reviews on the interweb, and his devotion to swimbait fishing will motivate you Those are my top 5

After thinking on this a bit more, I'll be going with the Champion 705. I've never had a "nice" rod like that before (I'm used to middle of the road gear) so I decided to spend more on a more sensitive and lighter rod. The 7 ft length will be great for skipping and the 5 power will work for the heavy cover situations. If I like it, I'll grab a 735 eventually and use one for each purpose of skipping and flipping.

I need a new jig rod this year and have narrowed down brands to Dobyns, for reasons such as warranty, customer service, selection, the list goes on. I had been thinking of a Fury model but now I'm thinking of saving some extra $ for the Champion XP. I want a rod that can both skip jigs under docks and flip into light cover (bare spots in sparse lily pads, light milfoil, laydowns). I have a heavier flippin stick for the thick stuff. I'm assuming that the sensitivity will be quite a bit more in the Champion line vs the Fury. Looking for any reviews on the 705 for skipping and flipping. I think a 7' length will serve both purposes well, but should I be looking at going longer?

Ok this is great info. I am hearing more great stuff about Dobyns and their customer service, and their warranty. That kind of stuff is important to me, so I'm gonna give them a call and ask them some questions. Thanks everyone for the help

Never thought about the 684, I'll check those out. Would it handle 1/2oz jigs without feeling to overloaded?